Until the End
by WingsOfTheRaven112
Summary: In a world that is being over run by the dead, 17 year old Persephone is left to survive on her own. Although she is able to survive, the loneliness is eating away at her. When she comes across a motel full of people, she thinks her luck as taken a turn for the better. But she realizes one thing as she grows close to everyone she meets- the more you love, the more you have to lose.


I felt my heart pounding in my chest, my head throbbing with pain. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as I brought the hammer down on the zombie's head again. I recognized the metallic taste of copper in my mouth, and I realized the blood was coming from my lip. The zombie wasn't moving, but my hatred and anger was making my vision red and hazy. I didn't care that it wasn't moving- I hated it with all my heart and soul, so I kept beating it with all my strength.

My anger started to subside, and my head didn't hurt as much as it did before. Out of breath, I fell to my knees. It was only then that I realized that the zombie I just beat the absolute shit out of used to be a human being. "But what kind of human being," I whispered, wiping the blood off my lip. He could've been a rapist, or a murderer, or a child abuser. I wouldn't pity anyone. Pity never got anything done.

I stoop up, unsteady on my feet at first. I grabbed a nearby tree to keep from falling face first and breaking my nose. I scoffed. One of the disadvantages of having a big nose- you fall on your face, guess what's going to hit the ground first?

I began walking. Towards what, I didn't know. I didn't exactly have a destination. I just… walked. I almost never came across people. I didn't expect to, either. The zombies had wiped practically the entire Earth out. As much as it pained me to think about it, it was the truth- The world belonged to the dead now.

I noticed an opening out of the woods I had been hiding in. Readying my hammer, I cautiously walked to the opening, squinting my eyes as the sunlight hit my face. The first thing I saw was a motel. Someone had reinforced it to the point where I don't think anything could've gotten in. Especially things as stupid as zombies.

It wasn't until I looked up that I noticed a boy about my age pointing a gun at me. He obviously didn't know how to handle a gun- he was shaking like crazy.

I put my hands up, still holding my hammer. "Woah! It's okay, you can put the gun down. I don't want any trouble, and I didn't come here to hurt anybody."

As soon as the words escaped my mouth, more people began to appear from inside the motel. They all carried guns, except for two little kids, one boy and one girl. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The demand had come from a brunette girl who had an angry glare on her face. "I don't want anything! I had been hiding out in the woods, and I just happened to stumble across your nice little set up. I'm not going to ask for anything, I have enough food for myself."

Everyone seemed to stiffen at these words, and I cringed as I realized my stupidity. Now they were going to want my food, and if I didn't give it to them- Well, it was my hammer against their guns. I just hoped to God that someone in there was calm and rational.

For once, my prayers seemed to be answered. A young African American man walked to the entrance of the motel, and he put his gun down. I smiled, glad someone was willing to be civil. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you. Actually, I was wondering if you'd be interested in staying with us. It doesn't have to be for a long time, if you don't want that. You can stay as long as you feel comfortable."

I snickered. "You just want my food, huh?" The man laughed a little, and replied, "Well, we don't have much food of our own, so yeah, some food would be nice. I'm Lee."

I lowered my hammer, grinning. "Hey, Lee. I'm Persephone. This is a nice place you've got. Must've taken a while to do this."

Before Lee got a chance to respond, someone from behind the wall guarding the motel stood up, still holding a gun. "You asshole! You can't just invite her in like that! What if she's bitten? What if she's bandit? And even if she isn't, she's just another mouth to feed. Why don't you use your head for once, you moron!"

I glared at the old man. "Grandpa, calm the hell down before you hurt yourself. I never said I was going to stay, anyway. And, say I wanted to, you'd get food. From what I've heard from the only smart person here, you guys are low on food. I have a lot from a store I basically looted. It's in the woods, where I hid it. This is the last chance- do you want the food, or not?"

The old man fell silent, looking at the brunette girl who had spoken before. Beside her, a middle aged man with a cap spoke up. "I say we let her stay. She looted a store of its food, so she must have a shit-load of it!" I raised an eyebrow. "I never said that, but-"

"Kenny, you're not in charge! We have to agree on letting a complete stranger live with us," the brunette interrupted. The middle aged man, Kenny, frowned. "Fine. We'll take a vote. Who wants to let her in?"

Lee raised his hand. "I do. Think about it- everyone will get fed today."

Kenny raised his hand after Lee. "Hell yeah."

The brunette girl shot a furious look at Lee and Kenny, and then shook her head. "No. We don't need anything jeopardizing our safety, and we don't need another mouth to feed."

The old man agreed, saying, "Exactly. My daughter's the only smart one out of the lot of you." I suppressed a laugh. _So, they're father and daughter_, I thought. _The apple doesn't fall far from the tree._

A young blonde man smiled at me. "She's alone, so that means she's been surviving by herself. That goes to show she's strong, and she's got food. A strong fighter and food? I don't know about everyone else, but I think that's a lot to let go to waste. I think we should let her stay." I nodded and smiled at him in thanks, deciding I liked him. The boy from earlier, the one who had been pointing the gun at me, looked around nervously. "I'm new here, so I don't think my vote will matter much, but I think we should let her stay. She'll be able to protect herself, and maybe others."

Beside Kenny was a blonde woman, who looked like she was having a hard time deciding. "I don't know… You seem like a nice person, but what if something happens?" I noticed she spoke with an accent. "I promise, nothing will happen. Because of me, anyway. I've been traveling alone, so I haven't had any contact with anyone. That means no one's out to get me, and I haven't been bitten or scratched or anything like that. I'm willing to share my food, so I can't be all that bad, right?" I said in my kindest and most convincing voice. The woman looked at Kenny desperately, and he said, "Come on, Hon. Think of the food, and how everyone will get to eat tonight!" The blonde woman sighed and nodded. "Okay. We should let her stay." The brunette groaned, and one last man spoke up. "Sorry, Lilly, but it'd be stupid to send her away," he said to her. He looked up at me. "I guess you're staying, kid." I flashed everyone a smile. "Good. I could use some company. Now- if anyone wants the food, you'll have to follow me. Bring weapons, the woods are crawling with zombies."

Lee and Kenny immediately volunteered, and so did the man who spoke up for me last. He grabbed two guns-one rifle and one pistol- and walked up to me. He handed me the pistol. "Here. This will kill the walkers faster than that," he said, nodding towards my hammer. I took the gun, observing it. "Maybe. But it's louder. That's a disadvantage. But thanks. I'm sure I'll have to use it. I'm Persephone, in case you missed it." The man pushed up his glasses, and said,. "I'm Mark." Kenny walked up beside me, and said, "Can we get going? Everyone is starving, myself included."

I nodded, and began to walk into the woods. They walked beside me, and I realized how good it felt to have someone with me. "So, uh, Lilly…" I started, waiting for a reply. "She thinks she's runnin' the place," Kenny said bitterly. "It's her way or the highway. Her temper is going to get someone hurt one day. Same goes for Larry."

"Is Larry her father?"

"Yeah. Son of a bitch has a nasty temper. He even left Lee to die a while back."

I turned to Lee, my eyes wide. "Seriously?"

Lee nodded, anger apparent on his face. "Yeah. We were at a drug store, and it was under attack by the walkers. He punched me. Knocked me flat on the ground. He was hoping the walkers would get to me. It's a good thing Kenny was there to help me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Shit. And everyone trusts this guy enough to live with him?"

Mark scoffed. "No! But if we tried to kick him out, Lilly would kill us without thinking twice about it."

I shook my head. "Damn. I'll be on my guard around them… Anyone else I should worry about?"

"No, everyone else is pretty easy to get along with. So, where are you from, Persephone?" Lee asked.

I shrugged. "A lot of places," I lied. I didn't plan on telling anyone anything about me. My name and my age were the only things I was willing to share. "I'm 17."

Kenny grinned. "Well, at least you'll be able to keep Ben company.

"Who's that?"

"The only person in our group around your age. He's either 17 or 18. I never really got around to asking. But I think he'll be glad to have someone his age around. He's been stuck with the kids since he got here," Kenny laughed.

I remembered the kids that had been standing behind. "Oh, yeah! I saw two kids! A boy and a girl. The little boy was cute," I said. This made Kenny visibly swell with pride. "That's my boy, Duck." I grinned. "He's your son? Awesome! That blonde woman must be the mom, right? You called her 'hon,' if I remember correctly."

Kenny nodded. "Katjaa. She's from Belgium."

I turned to Lee. "The little girl must be your daughter." Lee shook his head, "No, but I'm looking out for her the best I can."

I stopped when a horrible stench hit me. I grimaced. "We're here, guys."

Mark covered his nose, holding his rifle with one hand. "Shit! What's that smell?"

I walked forward, toward a gigantic tree where my food was hidden. "The food. I covered the bags in zombie guts, so that way, if anyone found it, they'd think it contained zombie heads or something. I didn't get any on the food, though."

I used my hammer to begin digging away at the dirt. Eventually, a hole at the bottom of the tree trunk became exposed.

I put my gun and hammer down to grab the bags. I made sure I only grabbed the top, so I didn't touch any of the zombie blood.

"So, who wants to take one?" I said with a fake cheerful voice. There were three garbage bags, and Kenny grinned. "That's gonna keep everyone fed for a while! I'll take one."

Lee and Kenny took one bag each, and I took the last. In my other hand, I held my hammer. "I can't hold the pistol. Mark, can you get it?" Mark complied and picked up the pistol, and we made our way back to the motel. "Zombies won't bother us. We smell like them because of the bags."

"You've got a smart head on your shoulders," Kenny complimented. I grinned. "Hey, thanks!"

In that moment, I felt much better than I had in a long time. I had someone to talk to besides myself. I had company, besides the zombies. For the first time in a long, long time, I felt as if things might just work out.


End file.
